Sports betting is expected to arrive in Ohio soon and our partner Tipico Sportsbook is giving you a crash course so that you’re ready to go when it’s finally legal. Here are a few terms you should know to get started:
Point Spread
You’ve probably seen point spreads before, whether it’s from a TV show or a list of spreads in a newspaper.
The point spread is a number created for every betting matchup with the goal to have an equal amount of people bet on each side. If your side wins, you win.
An example of a spread is a spread at -2.5. When a team is favored, it’s listed as -2.5. It’s important to remember the favored team is always listed alongside the minus sign. As for the underdog, that team is always listed with a plus sign. In our example, the underdog would be +2.5.
This means that if you bet the favorite, you need your team to win by at least three points, or, in our case, goals. If you take the underdog, that team needs to stay within three goals in a loss or win outright.
But what if you don’t have any interest in final scores, you just want to bet on the outright winner.
Money Line
The money line is a less-common sports bet than the sports spread because the odds are less favorable for the favorite.
If you’re looking to pocket extra cash while betting money lines, your best chance to score big is betting correctly on an underdog to win when the odds are in your favor.
Total (Over/Under)
Betting the over or under is an extremely popular bet to place because it’s betting the amount of goals scored. This means you’re not betting for one team to win – you’re cheering for goals.
If you bet the over, you’re betting the teams will score more than the betting line projects. This is a sports bet where you can win before the final whistle concludes the match.
But if you’re betting the under, you’re betting against goals scored and hoping the total is below the amount offered by the sports book.
For more information about legal sports betting in Ohio, and to register for early access, visit Tipico Sportsbook. Tipico is the Official and Exclusive Sports Betting Partner of the Columbus Crew.
